


25 Headcanons of Christmas

by GingerLyoness



Category: Grantchester (TV)
Genre: Books, Children, Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2766839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerLyoness/pseuds/GingerLyoness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sidney helps at the Christmas Fayre in Grantchester on the bookstall, and gains a young assistant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jumpers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello fellow Grantchester viewers! I am hopelessly in love with this series, and since Christmas is coming up, I thought I would do a 25 day challenge I found on tumblr called the 25headcannons-ofchristmas. I hope you enjoy this! (P.S. I changed the Americanised title 'Sweaters' to the English 'Jumpers', just in case anybody was wondering!) (P.P.S. This has not been beta'd!)

Canon Sidney Chambers had been anticipating the arrival of Christmas since the Christmas lights had appeared on the streets in Grantchester centre, his mind trying to stave off Christmas-inclined thoughts until the first of the month. However, the date swiftly arrived and gave into seasonal music, jumpers and lights, decorations visible through living room net curtains.

The weather was chilly as he stepped outside on the day of the Christmas Fayre, marching towards the village hall with purpose, knowing that Leonard had already left. He was the sort of man who would manage with the throng of old ladies, he was sure - it was in his nature. He wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of the day, Leonard ended up with a floral apron on doing the washing up for them. Sidney, on the other hand, believed he would most likely be lifting boxes, stacking books and moving tables. However, what he didn't realise was that the majority of the young girls in Grantchester would appreciate his presence more than he could imagine, and not for reasons he could think of.

He smiled as he walked into the village hall, shrugging his coat off as an older woman bustled towards him, "good morning Mrs. Goodfellow," he greeted her, smiling as she took his coat from him.

"Good morning Mr. Chambers! It is lovely of you to help again, I must say," she chuckled, "now, I think Leonard has been helping with the tables, so if you wouldn't mind looking out the tablecloths?"

He nodded, "of course, it'll be no trouble." Sidney pushed up his sleeves as he made his way towards the back room, striding down the corridor swiftly before reaching the tablecloths which, he wasn't surprised to find, were floral and pink. As he walked back into the room, he noticed a throng of elderly women in the back corner, deciding they were his best bet if he was going to find out where the items were meant to go.

"Excuse me, ladies," he interjected, smiling gently at their overlapping greetings, "sorry to interrupt, but where would you like these?" he asked, holding the table cloths up to them.

"Oh, those can just go on the tables, dear," one of them told him, taking them from his hands gently before scurrying of (like old women do) to place them in their correct positions. He chuckled, turning back to the throng of ladies.

"Now then, I don't suppose anybody needs any assistance with anything, do they?" he inquired, folding his hands in front of him as they chattered amongst themselves.

"Well, Mr. Chambers, I suppose Mr. Grant could do with some help with the book stall? There are plenty of boxes to get in order, and he could do with someone who could lift them," one of the women told him, motioning towards the aforementioned man, who was indeed struggling with various boxes filled to the brim with books. Sidney smiled, nodded, and walked over to him, taking the box from his hands as he had it halfway to the table, chuckling as he protested.

"Don't worry, Mr. Grant, you tell me which books you want where and I can sort them for you - there's no need for you to be lifting them with your hip how it is," Sidney told him, placing the box on the table with a thump, "now, are we organising by genre or author?"

The day wore on, the village congregating within the hall for the festivities. The smell of mulled wine and mince pies drifted around, and thankfully Sidney was offered one before he could become too tempted by them. Plenty of people came to the bookstall, and he was surprised by how enjoyable it was to help with selecting books throughout the day.

One occasion in particular made the day for him. A young girl approached the stall without a parent in tow, her eyes barely able to see over the table top. He smiled, walking around to the side to speak to her, "are you lost, young lady?" he asked, looking over the crowds of people for any concerned parents.

"I was looking for books," a small voice sounded from below, making him crouch down to hear her.

"Well then, you've come to the right place, haven't you?" he chuckled, "now, before we look out your book, where are your parents?"

"They're over there, but they said to come and help with the books," she grinned, "Mummy's helping with tea, and Daddy's doing the raffle, and I had nothing to do."

Sidney grinned, "come on then, we'll get you set up here - I need an assistant anyway, since Mr. Grant's decided to take a nap!" he lifted the small child up onto an empty box, allowing her to help put books into bags once they were bought. Eventually, the little girl had been stood still for so long that she began to get cold, goosebumps forming on her arms as she rubbed her hands up and down them. Before she could get colder, Sidney draped his jumper around her.

She grinned up at him, pulling the jumper over her head, her arms only reaching halfway down the sleeves, "thank you, Mr. Chambers!" she trilled, turning back to the front of the stall to see the crowds beginning to drift away, "they're all going..." she murmured, crossing her arms defiantly, the sleeves of the jumper draping down her sides.

"Well, it is nearly five 'O clock," he chuckled, "now, which one of these would you like?"

"Really?!" she asked, her eyes automatically flicking to 'Treasure Island', before snatching it up in her hands, carefully running her fingers over the cover with a grin on her face, turning back to him, "this one!" she cried, holding it out to him.

"Oh, this is a good one," he smiled, looking up as he noticed a young woman walking towards them, "looks like your mother's coming for you," he turned, lifting her down from the chair carefully to place her on the floor, moving back to stand at the edge of the table, "good afternoon, Mrs..?"

"Staunton. I see you've been looking after our Flora, I must say it's very kind of you," she smiled, pulling the child into her side as she ran to her, "she hasn't been too much trouble?"

"Oh no, she's a wonderful saleswoman - she's been helping with the stall all afternoon," Sidney reassured her.

Mrs. Staunton smiled, "now Flora, you ought to give Mr. Chambers his jumper back, hadn't you?" she helped the little girl out of the oversized jumper, handing it back to Sidney, "thank you again, Mr. Chambers."

As Sidney walked back to the vicarage later that evening, his nose nuzzled underneath his scarf and coat, he smelt lingering wafts of cinnamon and mincemeat from the jumper beneath, smiling to himself as he thought of the day that had passed.


	2. Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sidney goes to meet Amanda from the station in the middle of heavy snow, only to come across someone unexpected on his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day! I hope this passes muster, again it hasn't been beta'd and I am ridiculously behind, but I hope it is liked all the same!

Mrs. Maguire didn't like snow. She never had and never would. The reason for this was mostly because of bleak childhood memories being stuck in a cold house, their firewood having been made unusable by the damp. Therefore, when the young clergymen in her household were more than enthused by the snow outside of their window, she couldn't help but grouse and complain a little more as she made their breakfast.

"Why you two are so excited about that snow is beyond me," she grumbled, putting plates of scrambled eggs and toast in front of them with a thump, "it's frozen rain, that's all," she marched back to the stove, taking the bacon off of the heat, picking it up with the tongs and placing it on the top of the other food.

"But Mrs. Maguire, we don't usually see snow here - it's a rare treat," Sidney told her, grinning at Leonard across the table before letting his eyes flick to the window, watching the thick flakes of snow fall onto the windowsill. "Leonard - how does a walk in the snow later sound to you?"

The younger man looked up, teacup half way to his mouth, "won't it be a bit chilly? And I thought Amanda was coming down today, anyway?"

Sidney's eyebrows raised, eyes moving to his watch quickly to see that Amanda would indeed be here in just over an hour, "you're absolutely right, Leonard, I-"

"You ought to get a move on, Mr. Chambers!" Mrs. Maguire chastised, turning around from the stove, "you're lucky she's even coming down in this weather, you won't want to keep her waiting, will you?"

"No, I don't suppose I will," Sidney mumbled, beginning to eat faster for the sake of meeting her in time.

He eventually left the house at a quarter to ten, walking quickly to avoid being late as well as getting cold, something that was more likely considering he had no scarf. As he turned a corner, he heard someone calling his name from behind him, suspecting it to be Mr. Brand asking about something to do with the village. He stopped to look, only to feel someone walk into him, losing his balance in surprise and plummeting to the floor, coupled with a feminine yelp and a weight on his chest.

The air was expelled from his lungs with an 'oof!', his brow contorted as he looked up, only to find none other than Hildegard Staunton on top of him, scrambling quickly to her feet.

"I am so sorry, I didn't look where I was going, I-" she paused in her hurried apologies, looking down at Sidney with a shocked expression, "Sidney! I- I didn't realise," she said, her face seemingly displaying embarrassment. The pair hadn't spoken since Sidney's admission to the events that had occurred in London, Hildegard's expression hardening as she thought of the previous events. She held her hand out to him nonetheless, helping to pull him to his feet as he dusted some of the snow off, "you're not hurt are you?" she asked briskly, trying to display a steadfast, unemotional demeanour despite the fact that her heart was racing in her chest as she watched the snow fall around him, the flakes getting stuck in his blonde hair, trapped between his eyelashes.

Sidney nodded, feeling guilty as he too remembered what had occurred, "I'm fine, thank you," he smiled gingerly, fingers playing with the button on his coat, "how have you been?" he asked, looking up hesitantly, his pulse fast with the shock of the fall as well as seeing her after such a long time. He watched as she flicked at the snow accumulating on her gloves, smiling as it nestled in her curling hair.

"I've been...alright. Yes, I've been fine," she nodded, clasping her hands gently, "I'm still having my piano students. Although, it has been a little cold lately," she chuckled in spite of herself, quickly changing her expression after her short lapse.

"That's-that's good, I'm glad you're doing well," he smiled, forgetting himself for a moment as he looked at her, "well. I'd best be getting on my way, I'm running late as it is," he murmured quickly, "it was nice to see you."

Hildegard nodded, staying silent as they both walked in opposite directions, being careful not to slip on the snow again. Suddenly, Sidney turned, calling quickly, "I've missed you."

She smiled, murmured, "I missed you, too," before turning back again, walking hurriedly to avoid having to speak anymore, despite the fact that she hoped she would seem him again sometime soon.

Sidney met Amanda a few minutes later, a grin plastered on his face as she asked him what had happened to make him so chipper.

"Oh, nothing really," he chuckled, letting her link her arm through his as they walked towards the meadows, "just the snow."


End file.
